Haze may reach hazardous levels, says Grace Fu, as mask vending machines to be fully deployed by Friday night

Haze may reach hazardous levels, says Grace Fu, as mask vending machines to be fully deployed by Friday night “Depending on the weather, we can expect air quality to fluctuate, including the possibility of reaching hazardous levels,” says the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment. SINGAPORE: Air quality in Singapore could reach hazardous levels depending on the weather, and the haze may last for some time, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu on Friday (Oct 16). Mask vending machines will be fully deployed by Friday night, she said, adding that about 10 per cent of eligible residents have collected their masks. The distribution exercise began on Wednesday, with N95 masks progressively made available at designated collection points across Singapore. Some locations saw long queues and confusion, while others faced temporary stock shortages. “I want to assure everyone that there are sufficient stocks of masks available,” Ms Fu said during a press conference. “We understand that sometimes, masks may be temporarily unavailable at some retail outlets because of increased demand, but we want to assure Singaporeans that there are sufficient stocks of masks in their retailers' warehouse and in the government stockpiles.” Retailers are continuously replenishing their shelves in stores, and the haze task force is working with them to keep masks available to the public, she said. Singapore should be prepared for the haze to last for some time, said Ms Fu, stressing that the situation is fluid. “Depending on the weather, we can expect air quality to fluctuate, including the possibility of reaching hazardous levels,” she added. Towards the inter-monsoon period at the end of October or early November, or in about three to four weeks, the government expects the situation to improve, said Ms Fu. Lighter winds around Singapore would then be less likely to bring haze from Sumatra or Kalimantan. When the northeast monsoon brings wind from the north to northeast around early December, the haze will go in a direction away from Singapore, she said. Air quality worsened across Singapore overnight, with the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) readings reaching the very unhealthy range in three regions on Friday. Central Singapore was the first to cross into the very unhealthy band at midnight, with its 24-hour PSI climbing to 227 at 9am – the highest reading recorded this year – before easing slightly to 226 at 1pm. National sports agency Sport Singapore said on Friday afternoon that outdoor and non-air-conditioned facilities at all ActiveSG sport centres had been temporarily closed amid the haze. At the press conference with Ms Fu were Education Minister Desmond Lee and Acting Minister for Manpower Jasmin Lau. Member agencies of the government’s Haze Task Force were also present. The Haze Task Force was convened last week. It is led by the National Environment Agency and comprises 28 government agencies.